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London’s river Thames is no longer ‘biologically dead’

The city’s famous waterway has been revived and is now home to hundreds of wildlife species including seals, seahorses, and sharks.

With COP26 drawing to a close, leaving activists exhausted, frustrated, and sceptical of the pledges made by world leaders, I’d say it’s due time we turned our attention to some positive news (unless you’re galeophobic, of course, in which case you may disagree).

As of this week, the river Thames is no longer ‘biologically dead’ – for the first time in over half a century.

This is according to the most comprehensive analysis of the city’s famous waterway since 1957, conducted by conservation scientists at the Zoological Society of London.

It found that clean-up efforts over recent decades have drastically brought down levels of chemicals such as phosphorus and conserved salt marshes for birds and fish.

For this reason, the 215-mile long river has finally been revived and is now home to a myriad of wildlife species – some endangered – ‘as diverse as London itself.’

I’m talking seals, seahorses, and sharks. That’s right, queue the Jaws theme tune…

‘This report has enabled us to really look at how far the Thames has come on its journey to recovery since it was declared biologically dead, and in some cases, set baselines to build from in the future,’ says researcher Alison Debney, who adds that the year-old project remains in its early stages, as experts seek to gather more data on three elusive species residing in the Thames’ outer estuary.

Venomous sharks discovered in River Thames in ZSL survey | Evening Standard

‘In 1957 there were long stretches with such low oxygen concentrations due to all the pollution that much of the river was devoid of life.’

Evidence of the Thames importance as a ‘breeding ground and nursery habitat’ for more than 115 different types of fish including smelt, European seabass and smoothhound, the report also states that water quality has exhibited ‘promising improvements.’

This is attributable to the effectiveness of advanced sewage treatment working to filter harmful levels of nutrients (namely Tributyltin, an anti-foulant that has a significant detrimental impact on shellfish) entering the Thames.

Though this is all music to the ears of those pushing for ecosystem recovery, the Thames hasn’t always been a model for successful environmental protection, however.

In fact, it’s still struggling to cope with the repercussions of the Industrial Revolution, which saw toxic runoffs from tanneries and human waste pollute it almost to the point of no return.

Today, it faces climate change-induced challenges like rising sea levels and water temperatures (on an upward trajectory of around 0.19 degrees Celsius annually since 2007) which pose a threat of erosion to the river’s living habitats.

Not to mention the scale of plastic pollution that’s physically altering the foreshore along the Thames by creating large mounds of sediment densely (measured at 19.5 plastics per cubic metre) bound together.

Seals in the Thames - The Line

Yes, the Thames may largely be free of toxic waste nowadays, but it has one of the highest concentrations of microplastics in the world, flowing down the river at a rate of up to 94,000 pieces per second.

These tiny fragments, mostly broken off from larger pieces of rubbish, could be ingested by animals, posing ‘potential physiological and toxicological threats.’

Plus, rivers carrying plastic waste are the most common way for the pollutant to enter the world’s oceans, which puts even more wildlife in danger.

Fortunately, all hazards will be carefully monitored going forward and some promising solutions have been offered.

‘This comes at a critical time and highlights the urgent need for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, known as London’s new super sewer, which is designed to capture more than 95% of sewage spills,’ says Liz Wood-Griffiths of Tideway.

‘It will have a significant impact on the water quality, making it a much healthier environment for wildlife to survive and flourish.’

Galeophobic or not, I think we can all agree that sharks in the Thames is a big win for the planet. They’re certainly less terrifying than the future we’re hurling towards right now eh?

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